ANZSOG’s First Peoples to All Peoples conference was held in Meanjin Brisbane from 1-3 March, 2023. Over 800 in-person attendees (plus 300 watching online) heard from over 20 First Nations speakers in a series of plenaries, panels and yarning sessions discussing First Nations administration in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
The conference examined First Nations policy through the lenses of Australia’s National Agreement on Closing the Gap commitments, particularly the four Priority Reforms, as well as the New Zealand Public Service Act 2020, which now clearly sets out the responsibility of the public service, particularly its leadership, in supporting the Crown’s relationship with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi.
A range of First Nations speakers from Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand shared their insights and experience of how transformative approaches that include First Nations knowledges, perspectives and values, can serve the wider public and First Nations interests.
All video recordings from the conference have been made publicly available as of 1 June. These feature all speakers and sessions and are free to view or use for research or teaching purposes. To see the available videos, go to the Conference Resources section further down this page.
The full report from the conference is now available.
The conference was divided into four sessions, based on the four Priority Reforms:
All presenters will help conference participants explore four key themes:
- formal partnerships and shared decision-making,
- building the First Nations community-controlled sector,
- transforming government organisations,
- shared data and access to information.
For those wanting more information on the National Agreement, ANZSOG, with the assistance of the Coalition of Peaks Secretariat and the Closing the Gap Secretariat have produced an Explainer ‘The National Agreement on Closing the Gap – and what it means for public servants’ which outlines in detail how public servants at all levels, and in all agencies, can work to help support the four Priority Reforms.
In partnership with:
ANZSOG is committed to building public service capability in First Nations Public Administration, and ensuring public services are culturally competent. Ways of working with First Nations peoples are undergoing a transformation and public servants working in all areas of public administration must change their thinking and upskill, in order to engage successfully with First Nations peoples for improved outcomes.
Part of this work is our regular First Nations public administration conferences which bring together public servants, academics and not-for-profit community leaders to engage with First Nations speakers and listen to their views. These events deepen public sector understanding of the value of First Nations knowledges and cultures, and their importance to public policy.
These conferences have also provided a valuable opportunity for people working in First Nations public administration to connect and build networks across jurisdictions in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
First Peoples to All Peoples: partnerships, devolution, transformation has built on the success of three previous First Nations public administration conferences.
In 2021, ANZSOG held its first virtual First Peoples’ Conference, Proud Partnerships in Place, which attracted over 500 participants and featured speakers from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including cabinet ministers from both countries. Video recordings from all conference sessions are available in our Wise Practice collection of First Nations resources.
This conference built on the success of its two predecessors: Reimagining Public Administration, held in Melbourne 2019, and Indigenous Affairs and Public Administration: Can’t we do better? in Sydney 2017.
For more information on ANZSOG’s First Nations activities, sign up for our First Nations e-news.
